Atlanta has a lot of choices as far as hotels go. We have typically stayed in either Buckhead or Dunwoody. This time we chose Buckhead due to its MARTA stop being so close to several hotels. The W and the Westin are right across the street and in the past we have stayed at the Mansion on Peachtree which is now the Mandarin Oriental. The W Buckhead had a good rate and we haven’t yet stayed there so I decided to give it a try.

We checked in around 9PM and we walked into what was one of the worst checkin experiences ever. There was one female agent at the front desk that was training another female agent. The other two check n desks were not staffed. There was a man at the checkin counter and another couple ahead of us. My wife decided to sit down in the lobby and allow me to handle the checkin. I wasn’t really paying attention to anything while waiting in line but after a few minutes and the line not moving my wife replied “seriously”! I then started to pay attention to what was going on at the checkin counter. The girls were flirting with the gentleman that was checking in!!! In no rush whatsoever that there was now a line forming and we haven been waiting 5-6 minutes. I waited about 2 more minutes while listening to there small talk. I then decided to walk up and ask “are we checking people in here, or are we flirting?!” The woman getting trained replied, “I am just getting trained.” While the “trainer” could have cared less! My wife walked around and found the front desk manager and complained and he came over and asked the checkin agent, “whats going on up here? About one minute later they brought in another person to help checkin people and thank God we didn’t get the “trainer” checkin agent but the other one that opened up. She must’ve had known we were pissed and was super nice and offered us free drink coupons and free breakfast coupons for both of our mornings at the property.

W Atlanta Buckhead exterior

W Atlanta Buckhead lobby seating

W Atlanta Buckhead lobby area

W Atlanta Buckhead off lobby

W Atlanta Buckhead lobby

W Atlanta Buckhead front desk

We were assigned room 925 which was an upgraded room from what we booked. It supposedly was a Fabulous room when we booked the lead in Wonderful room. The room was smallish like a lot of W’s we have stayed at. But was fine other wise. Sometimes W’s can be style over substance but we didn’t run into any other major frustrations or shortcomings. I did think the aesthetics of the lobby and common areas were nice. The room furnishings were fine too-not to cheap looking and semi stylish. The bathroom was tiny though! If you decide to close the sliding door to give yourself some privacy it is very tight in there!!!

I also decided to look around the property and checkout the other features. There was a nice fitness area which was empty when I was there but there was enough equipment for several people to workout at the same time in my opinion. It was very clean and offered complimentary waters. I made sure to grab a few since the bottled water in our room was $5!!

W Atlanta Buckhead

W Atlanta Buckhead fitness center

W Atlanta Buckhead fitness center

W Atlanta Buckhead fitness center

W Atlanta Buckhead fitness center

W Atlanta Buckhead fitness center

W Atlanta fitness center

I also decided to go outside to check out the pool. It was too cool for a dip but the pool was nice and had some decent views of Buckhead. There was plenty of lounge chairs and seating. I am sure on hot summer nights it can be a pretty happening area.

W Atlanta Buckhead pool chairs

W Atlanta Buckhead poolW Atlanta Buckhead pool

W Atlanta Buckhead shower

W Atlanta Buckhead bathroom

W Atlanta Buckhead Bliss shower amenities

W Atlanta Buckhead sink

W Atlanta Buckhead entry and closet

W Atlanta Buckhead Fabulous room TV and seating

W Atlanta Buckhead Fabulous room bed

W Atlanta Buckhead Fabulous room

W Atlanta Buckhead Fabulous room

W Atlanta Buckhead Fabulous room work area

W Atlanta Buckhead Fabulous room work area

W Atlanta Buckhead property map

W Atlanta Buckhead complimentary breakfast coupons and drink coupons

W Atlanta Buckhead Fabulous room snacks

W Atlanta Buckhead Fabulous room mini bar area

W Atlanta Buckhead Fabulous room entry

W Atlanta Buckhead hallways

W Atlanta Buckhead elevators

For dinner we had intended to go out to a place in Buckhead but it was so late and we were getting tired we just decided to order room service! We were so hungry I forgot to grab photos but I had the hamburger which was awesome (I was pleasantly surprised). My wife had pizza and mac and cheese which she said was good.

For breakfast both mornings we used our complimentary breakfast coupons at Cook Hall, the in house dining establishment at the W. They have a decent menu selection and our food on both mornings was excellent. We both loved the American Breakfast on offer for $19 which is the max amount our breakfast coupons allowed. So if you wanted an additional beverage or juice you would run over your allotment. There are many other cheaper options such as the pancakes which i enjoyed another morning.

We also had several drinks at the bar with one of our friends from Atlanta. The drinks aren’t terribly overpriced and were well made. We enjoyed hanging out at the bar for an hour or two on Saturday afternoon. They have a good selection of spirits and some nice concoctions on the drink menu. A great spot to stop in for a drink in my view.

One point to make here is that at night on the weekends the rooftop nightclub “Whiskey Blue” plays some loud house/dance music. So if you are a light sleeper you may want to ask for a lower floor or stay next door at the Westin. The hotel does offer a radio that offers background noise/nature music to drown out the music.

All in all I would stay here again. It is not as nice as the Mandarin Oriental however the W is a decent hotel in Buckhead and very convenient to get around and explore the Buckhead scene from this location. We would have no problem staying here again assuming we wouldn’t run into the same rude front desk agent again.

PointsPinnacle Breakdown

We decided not to redeem points for this stay. The decision was either pay the $120 nightly rate (plus tax) or redeem 20,000 Starwood points. It didn’t really make sense to waste 20,000 points for this cheap of a room rate so we paid cash. I value our Starwood points highly and I would only be getting 1.3 cents per points making it a lousy redemption.

Rate details for our stay

Starwood is also running a promo named the “More for you” promo. Thus allowing for some extra points earning potential. We earned 2400 Starwood points for only a $120/ night base rate which isn’t bad at all!

Earned over 2400 Starwood points for this stay with the “More4you” promo